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Black Friday Walmart Protests: Demand Respect, Demand Justice

November 25, 2014

On Black Friday, brave Walmart employees will be joined in solidarity by thousands of union members to stand up to the insatiable greed of the world’s largest private employer and to demand a living wage and economic fairness.

The Walton family, which owns Walmart, has amassed more wealth than the bottom 42% of Americans combined, while the average Walmart employee earns only $8.80 per hour – not nearly enough to survive. Walmart’s theory is clear: why pay workers more when the company can use their billions in excess profits to further line the pockets of big money investors and corporate executives?

This greed does more than just hurt employees and their families. Walmart is perpetuating a race to the bottom for wages and working conditions around the world. The company’s greed also costs American taxpayers millions of dollars each year to provide public assistance to Walmart employees who don’t earn enough to live on despite working for one of the most profitable companies in the world.

Workers will be striking at stores across the country, and your support will be crucial.You can locate the event nearest you at www.BlackFridayProtests.org. Be sure to also use the hashtag #WalmartStrikers on Twitter and Facebook. Together, we can show how important it is to set a national standard for treating workers with respect and dignity.

This is our chance to fight back against the myth of trickledown economics and engage in the same grassroots solidarity that has enabled generations of Americans to earn a fair wage and achieve a middle class standard of living. Economic justice is not attainable if we only ask for it; it is through our collective actions and solidarity that we achieve progress.

There are plenty of ways to show your solidarity for Walmart workers and economic justice on Black Friday, so be sure to lend your support in any way you can.